Chapter 309: Contradiction

The crowd wasn’t dying down at all. The earlier match between Ravilenna and Larren remained in everyone’s minds even after they both had long since left the sands.

However, the academy had no room to let the cheers die down either, considering the strict schedule they were in. So the announcer immediately spoke up through the artifact.

“And now, moving swiftly along to the final match of today! Please welcome our contenders!”

The crowd let out a thunderous rumble of cheers and excitement, the noise vibrating through the walls.

“From the western gate, please welcome Clarissa of Class Raven!”

The crowd cheered for her name as the announcer gestured to the western gate.

The western gate slowly rose, and a timid figure walked out onto the sands with cautious steps. It was, indeed, Clarissa. Her eyes were tight and flicking about, clearly nervous, as she held one hand to her chest, the other holding her bow tightly.

“And from the eastern gate, please welcome Lechter of Class Honors!”

The crowd cheered even louder as the eastern gate rose.

For the first time since this tournament began, I finally got to see Lechter stepping out of a gate. I couldn’t help but let out a long, deeply satisfied scoff through both of my noses.

Finally… The curse finally broke.

After missing both of his matches due to various reasons, being called to the prep room for his first match, and becoming my own lawyer-slash-attorney for his second match… I could finally properly watch him fight.

Down on the sands, Lechter strode forward toward his position. He wore his usual academy uniform along with light gear and a wooden sword. Even with Feyt’s eyes, his resting scowl face remained clear as ever. His eyes were glaring, fixed on the girl standing before him as he marched forward.

“Clarissa’s got this in the bag, right?” Lionne blurted out. “I mean, she won both of her matches in under half a minute!”

Eve nodded along. “Clarissa is indeed a powerful contender… However, you’ve seen how Lechter fought before, haven’t you?”

“That doesn’t matter if Clarissa could shoot him before he even got close!”

I stayed silent, just nodding alone. I could’ve asked them how Lechter fared in his matches out of curiosity, but with the real deal in the sands before me, I had no reason to.

I stared at the two contestants, hiding my smirks.

Tomorrow was the semifinals. Based on how the brackets were structured, Carine was already locked in to fight Ravilenna. Which meant… Feyt was going to fight whoever walked off this sand as the victor.

And frankly, looking at both of them, I didn't know who I was supposed to be rooting for.

If Clarissa won, Feyt was in for an absolute nightmare. I still remembered my first spar against her as Feyt. She defeated me in three seconds flat. Granted, I was trying to listen to the muscles of an arrow… which, if you didn’t know, don’t really have them.

Perhaps, with how much I had improved, I could predict where she was aiming using only Feyt’s ears based on her muscles. But that was just a theory.

On the other hand… if Lechter won…

To be honest, I couldn’t yet determine what it would be like to fight him. I still hadn’t watched him fight in earnest since the last time we sparred, and back then, his sword techniques were ruthlessly unpolished, despite his speed and overwhelming strength.

But still, he had somehow reached the final eight while still wielding a sword. He must have improved his technique, or he had something hiding up his sleeve.

Either way, tomorrow, I would have a proper opponent to fight as Feyt. The only question left was… which?

Down in the center of the arena, both contenders came to a halt.

Clarissa took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, pressed her right hand to her chest, before slowly pulling a blunt wooden arrow from the quiver at her back. When her eyelids opened again, the nervous, timid girl had completely vanished. Her posture settled into a loose but firm stance as her eyes locked squarely onto Lechter.

Across from her, Lechter drew his sword. He didn't take a fancy stance. He merely planted his feet, leveled the blade with one hand, and glared across the sands with an intensity that could stoke fire.

“Three… Two… One… Begin!”

Before I could even blink, an arrow was already whistling across the sands, aimed dead-center at Lechter’s chest. It was the exact same opening shot she used on me, and I believe the rest of her opponents.

This was my chance to see how Lechter would react. Would he be able to react fast enough to block it with a sword? Would he do so while advancing? Would he expect the second shot already waiting for him?

However, Lechter didn’t do any of those.

Instead, he simply took one step forward to tilt his torso, letting the arrow graze the front of his chest plate.

Wait… what?

Before anyone in the crowd could even react, two more arrows followed in succession.

Yet Lechter didn't panic. He didn't flail his sword around trying to deflect them. He took a step forward, tilting his head to let one arrow brush past his hair, and shifted his shoulder so the second passed through nothing but the air.

Beside me, Lionne leaned forward. “H-How is he dodging that?!”

I couldn’t even answer her. I was in my own world, surprised by the spectacle.

He really improved a lot!

The last time I crossed swords with him, he was as rigid as the stick up his ass. But right now, he was marching forward, dodging every arrow Clarissa sent to him smoothly and flawlessly.

If he improved his movement this much, how is his swordplay?

Down on the sands, Clarissa backed away, rapidly nocking a few more arrows while trying to create distance. But Lechter didn't let her. He planted his boot, kicked up a spray of sand, and surged forward in a straight line, dipping his head once more as another arrow flew over his shoulder.

In less than three seconds, the gap between them was gone, and Clarissa’s range advantage was gone.

Here it comes! Let’s see how much his swordplay has evolved.

Clarissa held her bow firmly with both hands and held it up, bracing with both hands to catch the incoming blow.

Lechter raised his wooden sword and swung down.

And the moment he raised his hand, I realized.

…What in the world is that stance?

It was a downward vertical slash… A stiff, basic one.

T-That has to be a mistake.

The strike from Lechter landed, but Clarissa managed to angle her bow enough to let it slide to the side as she quickly backed away. But I could tell, her arms were trembling. Lechter’s overwhelming strength was still present, and it sent shockwaves even through Clarissa’s deflection.

Clarissa was unable to nock another arrow fast enough, probably due to the trembling, and it gave Lechter enough time to rush forward again, and once more, his stance and movement… I came to question.

It’s… basic as hell.

Clunky, even.

The contradiction was so jarring it gave me a headache. How could someone demonstrate flawless evasive instincts against a couple of arrows, only to swing a sword like a rookie on steroids?

His sword skills barely improved at all since I last saw him!

…Unfortunately for Clarissa, what he lacked in technique, he more than made up for in sheer, terrifying brute force.

He swung again, another vertical strike. Unable to back away in time, Clarissa raised her bow again to attempt another deflection.

But this time, the sword struck true, and the sheer strength was enough to snap the bow in two, carrying with it enough force to make Clarissa stumble to her knees.

“First point to Lechter of Class Honors!” the announcer’s voice echoed through the arena. “A one-minute timeout will be granted to get a replacement bow!”

Lionne loudly gritted her teeth. “H-How did he win?! I thought strength was all he had up until now!”

I nodded in agreement across both bodies.

Down in the ring, the western gate rose once more, and Olivia rushed out holding a brand new wooden bow for Clarissa.

Clarissa stood up slowly, shaking out her trembling hands, and grabbed the fresh bow from Olivia, thanking her while testing the tension of the string.

Lechter, meanwhile, didn't even look at her. He just turned his back, pacing slowly back to his position. His shoulders were tense, his grip on the hilt white-knuckled, and his glare was directed at nothing but air.

He didn’t look like he was enjoying the win at all. In fact, he looked pissed off.

Several questions were blaring inside my mind. Why is he so pissed off? And why was the contrast between his evasive movements and his swordsmanship so jarringly wide?

The one-minute timeout soon passed. Olivia quickly made her way through the gate before it closed once again.

Clarissa took her spot again, gripping the new bow. The earlier shock seemed to have faded, replaced once more by that cold focus. She nocked an arrow, exhaling a slow, steady breath.

The announcer cleared his throat.

“Three… Two… One… Begin!”

The moment the match resumed, Clarissa didn't shoot out her usual opening. She began to move to the side and began firing at an angle, then pivoted on her heel to loose a second arrow with deliberate, delayed timing. She was clearly trying to disrupt whatever rhythm he was in.

Yet the result was the same as the first round.

Lechter began marching forward once more, moving his body to the exact points where her arrows were aiming. He was weaving through them like cloth blown by the wind.

How is he doing that?!

I truly hoped that this was just the result of his training. In fact, I would be happy to learn that. But his sloppy swordsmanship threw that theory out the window straight through the gutter.

But then, looking through Carine’s eyes… I decided to focus on his eyes. Or more specifically, where he was looking. I drew a line from his eye and realized something.

He wasn’t tracking the arrows at all. Instead, his eye had never left Clarissa ever since the match started.

He was watching her every move. From the shifts in her shoulders, the twitches on her wrists… he was watching them all. And before the arrow was even set loose, it seemed he already knew what to do for that arrow.

How…?

How was he able to do that? Even my eyes couldn’t predict where Clarissa might shoot that accurately, and whenever I sparred with her as Carine, I was mostly focused on the arrows that were already coming my way.

Before I could fully digest it, Lechter was already approaching her. Not a single one of Clarissa’s arrows had managed to touch him, as he gracefully dodged all of them.

The exact instant he reached melee range, however… All of that grace was flushed straight down the toilet.

Lechter planted his boots like a statue, reared his arm back with zero fluidity, and launched into another ugly, stiff-as-a-board overhead strike.

Clarissa tried to slip under the blow, but Lechter simply used his overwhelming reach and terrifying speed to alter the swing mid-drop, turning it into a wide, awkward swipe with the flat of the blade.

The wooden plank slammed solidly against her shoulder. The impact spun Clarissa around and sent her skidding across the sand, completely dislodging her grip on the new bow.

“And match!” the announcer yelled. “The winner of the final match of today is Lechter of Class Honors!!”

The crowd erupted into cheers once more.

“Are you kidding me?!” Lionne shouted, jumping up from her seat. “What in the world was that?! Did he really have to hit her that hard?! And stomping on her bow like that… is he out of his mind?!”

“L-Lionne, calm yourself,” Eve said, tugging at Lionne’s sleeve. “You’ll fall if you lean any further!”

I sat there between them, entirely motionless. In truth, the noise of the crowd and Lionne’s shouting barely registered in either of my ears.

As I stared at Lechter making his way back to his gate, all the questions I had about him began to echo in my mind.

Why was his swordsmanship so utterly basic, yet his evasion against Clarissa so flawless?

Why did he know where Clarissa was going to aim before she even loosed an arrow?

Why was he so insistent on using a sword?

And why did he go out of his way to shatter both of her bows?

Slowly, the final pieces of the puzzle began to fit together.